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Looking for some simple elemental X-ray map examples

MN
Massimo Nespolo
Tue, Dec 9, 2025 11:42 AM

Greetings,

A few years ago I sent to this list a "message in a bottle" request, to which got a very useful answer. I try again because I need some more help.

Among the questions I often include in the M1 geosciences exam, there is an exercise showing a collection of images, one BSE and a few elemental X-ray maps: the students have to identify the minerals in the sample.

My problem is that I have very few examples and  re-using them over and over, but I cannot give always the same. I have huge difficulties in finding some more examples. That's because one can find online a number of interesting examples, which however are typically focused on some relatively "exotic" mineral. That's understandable, one does not publish routine work. But what I need is precisely routine work, because I cannot pretend my students be able to identify less-common minerals.

I wonder if someone has some very simple example handy. A granite with some feldspar, micas, quartz and possibly a tourmaline or another accessory mineral? A peridotite with some olivine, pyroxènes, oxides? A metamorphic rock with some garnet, epidote, lawsonite, serpentine - whatever? The presence of some rare mineral would not be a problem, I will simply not ask to identify those.

Any help will be high appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

--
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Prof. Dr. Massimo Nespolo
Université de Lorraine
Faculté des Sciences et Technologies
CRM2 UMR - CNRS 7036
BP 70239, Boulevard des Aiguillettes
F54506 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy cedex France
tel: 03.72.74.56.46
fax: 03.72.74.52.18
massimo.nespolo@univ-lorraine.fr
http://www.crystallography.fr/pages_perso/Nespolo/
https://framapiaf.org/@saikonobiwa
/////////////////////////////////

Greetings, A few years ago I sent to this list a "message in a bottle" request, to which got a very useful answer. I try again because I need some more help. Among the questions I often include in the M1 geosciences exam, there is an exercise showing a collection of images, one BSE and a few elemental X-ray maps: the students have to identify the minerals in the sample. My problem is that I have very few examples and re-using them over and over, but I cannot give always the same. I have huge difficulties in finding some more examples. That's because one can find online a number of interesting examples, which however are typically focused on some relatively "exotic" mineral. That's understandable, one does not publish routine work. But what I need is precisely routine work, because I cannot pretend my students be able to identify less-common minerals. I wonder if someone has some very simple example handy. A granite with some feldspar, micas, quartz and possibly a tourmaline or another accessory mineral? A peridotite with some olivine, pyroxènes, oxides? A metamorphic rock with some garnet, epidote, lawsonite, serpentine - whatever? The presence of some rare mineral would not be a problem, I will simply not ask to identify those. Any help will be high appreciated. Thank you in advance. -- _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ Prof. Dr. Massimo Nespolo Université de Lorraine Faculté des Sciences et Technologies CRM2 UMR - CNRS 7036 BP 70239, Boulevard des Aiguillettes F54506 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy cedex France tel: 03.72.74.56.46 fax: 03.72.74.52.18 massimo.nespolo@univ-lorraine.fr http://www.crystallography.fr/pages_perso/Nespolo/ https://framapiaf.org/@saikonobiwa _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_//